BATON ROUGE - Sean Wallace, a highly decorated football player and assistant coach at Southern University, has been blindsided by a stage four pancreatic cancer diagnosis.

Those close to Wallace, a safeties coach for the Southern Jags, say the disease was found recently after Wallace went to an urgent care clinic following a football game. They say Wallace had been dealing with stomach pain and bowel issues for a while, but they only recently discovered how serious the situation was.

"He made a promise to the trainer that he would visit an urgent care facility, especially since they had a bye week. Little did we know that this decision would lead to a life-altering diagnosis," the post read. 

Wallace's supporters have now set up an online fundraiser through GoFundMe to help pay off his medical expenses. With a goal of reaching $250,000 in donations, nearly 200 people have already given close to $22,000 in about a day's time.

You can find the fundraiser by clicking here.

In his time as a player at Southern, Wallace was a two-time All SWAC, SWAC Defensive Player of the Year, Bayou Classic MVP, two-time Sheridan Black College All American, Walter Camp All American, and Kodak All American. In 2011, he was elected to the Southern University Football Hall of Fame.